Why Should You Follow Jesus?

Introduction

I would like to begin by reading a Scripture from the OT book of Isaiah.

Isaiah 45:22 NKJV

22 “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

Introduction: When my oldest daughter started school she came home one evening all excited about a game she’d been playing at school that day. During her first week of Kindergarten her teacher, in order to get the kids to learn to follow directions, had taught the class to play follow the leader. Now that sounds pretty trivial to us adults, but to a five or six year old it was pretty important, especially if you got appointed to be the leader! The fact that my daughter was so enthusiastic about what she’d done at school kind of sparked my interest so that night I asked her some questions about playing follow the leader. I started out by asking her what she though about the person who was selected to be the leader, to which she replied, “Daddy, the leader is always a very special person. You know daddy, the kind of person everyone wants to be like!” Then I asked her if she wanted to be the leader. She told me that she wasn’t really sure because it looked like a pretty hard job, having to make sure all of those people were following what you told them to do! Then finally I asked her, Why did you follow the leader?” Now I though she would say something like, “Because the teacher told me I had to.”, or “Because I was listening to what the teacher said.” But no, my six year old daughter said, “Because Cooper was the leader and he, daddy, is my boyfriend!” Question: Why do you follow the leaders you follow? Is is their charisma, or is it the power they display? Maybe its because they’re that person everyone else is following and you want to get on the bandwagon too. Why do you follow who you follow? Our text, John 3:31-36 is about following, and from it I want to present you with three reasons why you should follow Jesus. Let’s read the text.

John 3:31–33 NKJV

31 He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. 33 He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.

John 3:34–36 NKJV

34 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. 35 The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. 36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

Prayer

John 3:31 “Jesus is Above All”

John 3:31 NKJV

31 He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.

The first reason you should follow Jesus is because he is above all. John says here that Jesus comes from above, ἄνωθεν (anōthen) in Greek, meaning point blank that Jesus has come from heaven. This is the same word that’s used in John 3:3 (have congregation hold their place and turn back to Jn. 3:3) when Jesus says, “3 ... unless one is born again (anōthen from above), he cannot see the kingdom of God.” In other words, your “spiritual birth” must come from above, it must come from heaven. You can’t do it yourself! Next in Jn. 3:31 John says, “he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.” In the context of what’s being said here, this is John the Baptist speaking about himself in contrast to Jesus. We know that because of what John the Baptist said back in Jn. 3:30, remember, John said “He (Jesus) must increase, but I (John) must decrease.” Jesus must in increase because he is above all, it is he who brings salvation, John the Baptist was simply the messenger who announced the king’s coming. Notice, if you will, that Jn. 3:31 ends the same way it begins with one exception. The verse begins, “He who comes from above is above all.” but the verse ends, “He who comes from heaven is above all.” Why is John doing this? Well, one of the things you notice when you read John’s Gospel is that he’s prone to repeat himself. Here John is making completely sure that we understand who Jesus is and where he’s from. Jesus is the savior of the world, he is from above (from heaven), and because of the fact that he is above all you and I should worship only him.

Are you a follower of Jesus? Is he the sole authority who’s above all in your life? If not, why not make that so today, commit your life to Christ and set him above all!

Jesus Has a True Testimony

John 3:32–34 NKJV

32 And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. 33 He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. 34 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.

The second reason that you should follow Jesus centers on his testimony.

How many of you have ever been selected to serve on a jury? Several years ago I had the privilege of being selected to serve (trust me, if you’ve never been selected for jury duty it can be quite an experience at a number of levels, all except financially). After all of the jurors are selected they are then charged by the presiding judge to listen to all of the testimony and based on the evidence presented, render a verdict. This seems easy when you think about it, but it can be pretty difficult when the testimonies of various witnesses all seem to conflict. This isn’t the case with Jesus; his testimony is always true and trustworthy.

That’s the overall thrust of John 3:32-34. The sad part about this is that a lot people didn’t except the testimony of Jesus. That’s the point of what John’s saying in Jn. 3:32 when he says “no one receives His testimony”. Do you remember Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus when he said, Jn. 3:11 “… We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.”? Many of Jesus’ own countrymen rejected his message of salvation. Sadly, that’s still the case today, many people aren’t willing to accept the offer of salvation through Jesus. Are you? John 3:33, on the other hand, shows the contrasting perspective of the person who accepts the testimony of Jesus. “He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.” Why do these people accept Jesus’ testimony as true and yet others don’t? It’s because there eyes are opened to what is said in Jn. 3:34 concerning Jesus “For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God ...” They have eyes that see and ears that hear. Friend the testimony of Jesus is completely true and trustworthy! Before Jesus came the prophets were only given the portion of the Spirit they needed to accomplish the task God had set before them, not so with Jesus, he is given the Spirit not “by measure”, but in it’s complete since! Therefore, when the jury renders the verdict in the case of Jesus you and I can rest assured that he has a true testimony.

Do you trust the testimony of Jesus? The entire Bible is about what he has done for sinners just like you and me. When you accept the truthfulness of what the Scriptures say concerning Jesus then you realize that his testimony is true. Is that you today?

Jesus Has Total Authority

John 3:35–36 NKJV

35 The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. 36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

The third reason you should follow Jesus is because he has total authority. Probably, the clearest statement concerning the authority of Jesus can be found in Matthew 28:18 just before the ascension when Jesus told his disciples, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth ...” One theologian said it like this, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine! (Abraham Kuyper).” We, as believers, should find a verse like John 3:35 to be of the utmost comfort! Why? Because it lets us know that no matter what happens Jesus is in control. He’s sovereign! People may be rioting in the streets and the whole world might look like its going to hell in a hand-basket, but do you know where Jesus is? He’s right where he’s always been, on the throne.

Let me ask you, do you believe that? Do you believe Jesus is sovereign? I would invite you, if you’ve never done so, to make Jesus your Lord and Savior by opening your heart to him!

The leads us into Jn. 3:36 where we see Jesus’ total authority on display in a contrast between those who believe and those who don’t. Take a look at Jn. 3:36, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” Here’s the skinny friends, when you read the Bible it consistently presents you with two types of people, those who believe (follow Christ) and those who don’t. It’s actually pretty simple! You see, if you’re a follower of Christ you have and will have everlasting/eternal life. The word that’s used there is αἰώνιος (aiōnios) and it means long-lasting. This word is used in Describing the nature of something as enduring or eternal.

Klippenstein, “Eternity,” ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Theological Wordbook, Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).

The life you have in Christ is exactly that, eternal! If you’re a follower of Jesus you will never be subject to the second death that’s spoken of in the book of Revelation. On the other hand, if you’re not a follower of Jesus the second part of Jn. 3:36 describes your position. You “shall not see life”, and because of your rejection of Jesus, “the wrath of God abides/remains” on you. The wrath of God here is quite and interesting concept, and we don’t have the time to unpack and develop the theme. However, suffice it to say that in its ultimate since it points to the fact that those who reject salvation found only in Jesus will one day undergo divine punishment, a punishment that lasts for ever!

Let me ask you, is that what you want? You don’t have to experience God’s wrath if you place your trust in Jesus!

Will you follow Jesus?

Let me conclude by telling you a story about a man who decided to follow Jesus. On January 6, 1850 a young 15 year old was walking up a hill in Colchester, England through one of the worst snow storm’s England had seen in a long time. It was a blizzard that just kept getting worse, and eventually it got to the point so that the young man couldn’t go on. Looking around and trying to find shelter he rounded the corner and saw a primitive Methodist church on nearby Artillery Street. He eased through the door as quietly as he could and sat down, seeing that the church had just begun their service. The snow storm was so bad that the minister hadn’t been able to make it so an older gentleman who was a shoemaker and tailor walked up to the pulpit and opened his Bible. The passage he had chosen was Isaiah 45:22 “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.” The poor man was so ill educated that he couldn’t even read the verse correctly, but read it he did. When the young man who had entered the church to get out of the snow storm heard those words something came to life inside him, and for the very first time he understood that something was missing from his life. Friends, on a cold winter morning in January of 1850 Charles Haddon Spurgeon decided he needed to follow Jesus. That same offer still stands today, and so I want to ask you, do you need to follow Jesus?

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/charles-spurgeons-conversion-in-a-primitive-methodist-chapel/

Invitation

Closing Prayer